TRA -:|^_-:^. -.. :KV m Class // //f ^ 7 Book Ly O Cop>TightlJ^. COFmiCICr DEPOSIT. RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS A PRACTICAL SCHEME M/v'.- CAMPBELL I.ATE LIEUT. U. S. MARINES NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS x--^ ^ ^ ^'^ Copyright, 1917, by Frederick A. Stokes Company All rights reserved OCT 5 i 1917 ©CU477297 NOTE Having been closely associated with re- cruits' work in his own battalion, it de- volved upon the writer to assist in the preparation of a programme for the con- duct of their training, and — in response to suggestions — he has been led to embody the results of his efforts and experiences in written form. Any length of time spent with soldiers during their early days in the Army is bound to result in the accu- mulation of many ''tips" and suggestions which, it is hoped, may be of practical value to those who find themselves placed in the position of being responsible for the training of recruits. The scheme as now given is not a theo- retical plan of what it might be possible to do with recnilt^j but ^a definite record vi NOTE of what has actually been accomplished over a period of many months. It is hoped that, armed with this little manual, a re- cruit instructor will be able confidently to undertake the responsibility of the train- ing of soldiers in their earliest stages of instruction. The writer acknowledges with much gratitude his obligations to those officers and non-commissioned officers under and with whom he has worked, and to whom many of the suggestions contained in the following pages are due. CONTENTS PAGE Foreword xi Introduction xv I — Introductory and General. (a) Joining of Recruits 1 (b) Squad Instructors ....... 4 (c) General Rules for Recruit Training: — (1) Introductory Lecture .... 8 (2) Never Pass a Fault 10 (3) Special Physical Training Drill . 11 (4) Discipline 13 (5) "Counting Out the Time" ... 16 (6) Use of the Drum in Marching . . 17 (7) Words of Command 18 (8) The Practical Nature of the Work 18 . (9) Extra Drills 20 (10) Variety in Work 21 II.— The Day's Work. (a) Time Table 22 (b) The "Fall In" 22 (c) Schedule of Work 27 Notes ... 30 A. — Practical Outdoor Work. (i.) Work to be done daily. — 1. Physical Training .... 35 2. Squad Drill— (a) Without Arms ... 35 Combined "Refresher" Squad Drills ... 36 (b) With Arms .... 39 11. 12l 13. > Vm CONTENTS PAGE (ii.) Work to Be Done From Time to Time as Opportunity Offers: — 3. Extended Order Drill ... 39 4. Platoon Drill 46 5. Company Drill .... 48 6. Route March 50 7. The Attack DriU .... 52 8. Passing of Messages in Ex- tended Order .... 54 9. The Attack— Simple Scheme 59 10. Guards and Other Duties — Mounting — Guard Duties . 60 Advance, Flank and Rear Guards 61 14. Outpost Drill 62 15. Outposts — Simple Scheme . 63 16. Bayonet Fighting .... 65 17. "Silent'^ DriU 65 18. Night-Work 68 19. Distance Judging .... 74 20. Visual Training . . . .77 21. Semaphore Signalhng ... 78 22. Trench Digging .... 78 23. Musketry 1 24. Map Reading and Field [82 Sketching J 25. Bombing Instruction . . 83 B. — Lectures — Outdoor or Indoor. 26. History of the Corps ... 86 27. Drill 87 28. Discipline 88 29. Marching and March Discipline 89 30. A Day's Life at Camp . . 92 31. 'Tips" for Soldiers . . . .93 CONTENTS IX PAGE 32. The Attack— Use of Cover . 95 33. The Attack— 1 96 34. The Attack— II 98 35. The Defence— 1 100 36. The Defence— II 101 37. The Defence— III. . . .102 38. Miscellaneous Matters— I. . 105 39. Miscellaneous Matters— II. . 108 40. Miscellaneous Matters— III. . Ill 41. Miscellaneous Matters — IV. . 114 42. Physical Training . . . .118 43. Guards and Their Duties . 119 44. Casualty Drill 121 45. Outposts— 1 122 46. , Outposts— II 124 47. Protection on the March — Advance, Flank and Rear Guards— 1 126 48. Protection on the March — Advance, Flank and Rear Guards— II 128 49. Night Work— Elementary . 133 50. Night Work— Advanced (Op- erations) 134 51. Wood Fighting; Fighting in Close Country and Villages —1 136 52. Wood Fighting; Fighting in Close Country and Villages —II 137 53. Wood Fighting; Fighting in Close Country and Villages —III 139 54. Ammunition Supply . . .140 55. Entrenchments — I. . . . 142 56. Entrenchments — II. . . . 143 X CONTENTS PAGE 57. Entrenchments— III. . . . 145 58.- Scouting 146 59. Reports and Reconnaissance . 148 60. The Platoon System . . .150 61. Artillery— 1 152 62. Artillery— II 154 63. Company Training . . .155 64. Entrenching Tools . . .156 65. Ceremonial 157 66. Camp Sanitation .... 158 67. Machine Guns ..... 158 68. Military Hygiene . . . .160 69. Military Engineering . . . 161 70. Relations of a Soldier to the Civil Power 163 71. How to Be Fit . '. . . . 164 72. First Aid 165 III.— The Weekly Time-Table . . . .167 IV. — Record of Work Done 173 V. — Rainy Weather 175 VI. — Conclusion 178 FOREWORD The adaptation of this work is based on an English publication entitled "Rapid Training of Recruits" by an instructor at Chelsea, Eng. This little work is not a theoretical scheme of how to train recruits, but an actual record of what is being ac- complished at this English camp. Our Regular army officers realize only too clearly the tremendous undertaking it will be to whip into shape the new national army and what is needed above all things is a definite programme of what is to be done, which must be rigidly adhered to. Taking a regiment as a unit, no hard and fast schedule should be adopted before each is thoroughly threshed out and di- gested by the officers of that regiment, and when this is done, the commanding officer should insist that each company com- mander follow out the programme, so that xii FOREWORD the progress of the regiment will be uni- form. There is nothing so prejudicial to good order and discipline as starting a morning's work with a hazy idea of what is to be done. It has been suggested the regimental commander detail one of his most intelligent officers, preferably a ma- jor or his second in command, to devote his whole time to the oversight of this work — a sort of senior instructor. Once a week there should be a meeting of all officers at headquarters which will be an open forum in which the youngest second lieutenant will have the privilege of expressing his opinion, and plans for the following week will be discussed and passed upon. By this means, a hearty co- operation will be exercised and an ''esprit de corps" soon engendered. Wise com- pany commanders will take their men into their confidence and explain that the pro- gramme is universal throughout the regi- ment. By so doing, in every way he should endeavor to cultivate that spirit of rivalry — to get his company to become more effi- cient than the next one — and he will soon FOREWORD xiii find his men will meet him more than half way. The secret of the efficiency of the British forces can be laid entirely to one thing — all work is made a game and that element of sportsmanship (which strangely enough is so lacking in the Hun's makeup) is speedily aroused and they all try to ''play the Game" to the best of their ability. INTRODUCTION "VVe of the United States are pitted against a stiffer proposition than we real- ize. We are in it now, and it is up to us, in from 6 to 12 months, to hammer into shape one million clerks, farmers and what not, to face these trained to the minute Huns, whose very tradition is military. It will be a herculean task but it can be done. Luckily our material is plastic and above the average in intelligence. To get the best results, the crushing brutal German tactics cannot be used. Our whipping them into shape, must be done diplomati- cally and it will necessitate a knowledge of human nature. A Frenchman, one Gustav Le Bon, has written a book — "The Crowd," which should be read by every newly commis- sioned officer. It is the psychology of the crowd and it will give the officer points xvi INTRODUCTION upon things of which he never dreamed. It will show him how to handle men. Getting down to "brass tacks" our duty is to develop the martial spirit in our men in the quickest possible time. To go at the matter intelligently it is necessary to have at least an elementary knowledge of psychology. Briefly — every person pos- sesses feeling, or the power of becoming aware of himself. When an outer object is brought in contact with him, a sense impression is produced and a sensation re- sults. According to its quality, whether it stimulates pleasure or pain, it becomes a sentiment. This sentiment may become fixed by repetition, then it becomes a habit, through hereditary action, an instinct. The strongest instinct naturally is that of self preservation. If a sensation is strongly tinged by sentiment, it leads to a reaction and an emotion results. If it is produced through the awakening of an instinct, the result is an impulse. Every sense impression leaves a mark on the mind which is retained by that quality of feeling known as m^emory. If a sensation INTRODUCTION xvii is revived an image results which acquires a meaning and is known as an idea. Will produces purpose which is a definite act and the immediate agents of these acts and movements are the muscles. Move- ments are classified as — (1) Voluntary and (2) Involuntary. The first is said to be under control of the will and this ac- tion is directed by the brain which tele- graphs the will by means of the spinal cord to the motor nerves. The second is not under control of the will and is di- rected by the spinal column itself. Invol- untary movements are of two kinds : in- stinctive, such as drawing the hand away from a hot stove, and acqiUred, such as a trained boxer assuming a guarding posi- tion when an opponent endeavors to strike him. A'cquired movements are called '^ reflex movements." Instinctive movements are derived directly or indi- rectly from the instinct of self preserva- tion. If the will has teen weakened hy fear or fatigue, then these instincts will predominate. Acquired movements are solely the result of education. As Lieut.- xviii INTRODUCTION Col. de Maud'huy of the French army states — ''The method which leads to this result, consists in at first creating con- scious associations which ultimately be- come unconscious." Whatever knowledge is to be acquired, as walking, riding, or learning military tactics, the method is al- ways the same. One must first cause by various methods, the conscious acts to pass into the unconscious. Taking the soul of the individual man, we see that every ob- ject which comes in contact with his feel- ings produces within him, a sentiment for good and evil. If these sentiments are ex- perienced continually, they produce hab- its, if doing the life of a race — instincts. Thus if an instinct monopolizes the whole of one's attention, an uncontrollable im- pulse is sure to follow. This brings us down to the question of the martial spirit. Uncle Sam has en- deavored to make an officer out of you and now you wish to make soldiers out of your men. Just how does he do it? Let us take your own case first, which later you will apply to your men. Uncle Sam can- INTRODUCTION xix not master your instincts which are your inheritance but he can your acquired ten- dencies. First he placed you among the elements of war, then you were bombarded from every side with warlike impressions. In time your acquired tendencies and re- flexes became altogether warlike. The spirit of war, little by little, gained com- plete sway over your whole body, mind and soul. It is separate and distinct from all other qualities as courage, determina- tion, confidence, etc. — at the same time it dominated all these, making them moral qualities — motor forces, which as they gain in impetus have in many instances con- trolled the very instincts of the soul. As Clausewitz has said: — "They form the spirit which permeates the whole being of war. These forces fasten themselves soonest and with the greatest affinity, on to the will which puts in motion and guides the whole mass of powers, uniting with it, as it were, in one stream, because this is the moral force itself. '* RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL I (a) The Joining of Recruits At the present rate of progress, the va- rious cantonments and camps in all prob- ability will be nearly ready by the time the men are called. Consequently a sys- tematic plan must be evolved for the han- dling of the men as soon as they report, so there will be as little confusion as pos- sible. It is probable when they do come, they will be in such numbers as to well nigh swamp the mustering officers and quartermasters. The British and Canadian system is to organize the newcomers at once into 1 2 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS squads of 24 men each, with a competent N. C. O. instructor in charge. (It has been found 24 men are all one N. C. 0. can comfortably handle.) The squads are classified from A to Z respectively. The men report at the various depots before they are sent to the camps to join their regiments, and are taken through the re- cruit stage, which consumes from 6 to 8 weeks. Reports as to the exact stage reached by these recruits is forwarded with them when they join their regiment, in order that their instruction may be continued where left off before they join their company. This perhaps is the best system, as it does away with an enormous amount of detail work. In these British depots, where the men straggle in irregu- larly, inoculation is taken as the basis of division of the men in squads. Recruits are inoculated for the first time on Thursday, and the second, on a week from the following Saturday. Consequently all men joining between a Friday and the fol- lowing Thursday are placed in one squad. If the men are to report direct to the INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL 5 camp, the following plan appears most practical : Let us suppose the draft is ordered to report on a certain date. All details it is taken for granted, have been worked out beforehand — particularly, as to the desig- nation of the N. C. 0. instructors, etc. The quota of this camp we will say is ten reg- iments—the 301st, 302nd, 303rd, etc. Bright and early on the day in question, the N. C. 0. instructors should be lined up for duty. As the recruits appear upon the scene, each should be asked for what branch he is designated or wishes to join. A competent sergeant and commissioned officer should do the questioning. If he says infantry, have him take his stand at the right — if artillery at the center — cav- alry to the left. Thus three lines will be started. As soon as twenty-four men are in any one line, an N. C. 0. instructor steps up and marches them off to the doc- tor for examination. When completed, they are taken to the quartermaster's for an issue of underclothes, trousers, towel and soap. They are then taken to the shower 4 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS bath, each man being required to take a bath, and shed all civilian clothes and underclothes. A hospital steward should be stationed near to be on the lookout for body lice. If any recruit is so infected, he should be taken at once to the isolation camp. "When the bath is completed, the squad gathers up their civilian clothes and is taken back to the Quartermaster's for the balance of the clothing issue. While enroute, the men should be warned, all civilian clothes must be out of the camp by twenty-four hours, and this rule should be strictly enforced. When all have ob- tained their clothing supply, they are marched to the quarters assigned to them, and thus A squad becomes the nucleus of A Company 1st Battalion 301st Regiment. It is perhaps the best plan to fill up one regiment before starting upon the next. (b) Squad Instructors The test and best only, non-commis- sioned officers should he detailed for re- cruit instruction. In other words, they INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL 5 must be specialists. A common view in the past has been, that any N. C. 0. can undertake this work. In the early stages of the war, an attempt was made in the English battalions to allow companies to take recruits into their ranks, each com- pany's N. C. O.'s being held responsible for the teaching of the recruits. In each and every instance this has turned out to be a lamentable failure. Recruit instruc- tion is highly specialized work and a good instructor is born and not made. (This is a strong argument for the British depot training, and if we wish to profit by Brit- ain's mistakes, here is our opportunity.) There are various reasons for this. First and foremost — the first, second, and third weeks are the most important in a recruit's life. He is brimming over with enthusiasm and "pep" for his new work. The manner in which he is dealt with, sympathized with, and encouraged by his squad instructor, plays a most important part in his subsequent progress. Habits of smartness or slackness, discipline or insub- ordination, of continued zeal or general 6 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS all around boredness, are then formed, and are never thoroughly eradicated. The oft quoted comparison of soldiers with boys hits very closely to the truth. Rousseau has stated, the brain of a child is like the meshes of a sieve — the younger the child, the finer the meshes, and as it grows older, these meshes grow further and further apart, it taking more and more to make an impression. The recruit is the same way. The very novelty of the work, which is so utterly foreign to any thing he has ever experienced, tunes up every percep- tive faculty, and for the time .being at least he is in an exceedingly receptive mood. If he has an instructor who is full of ginger and enthusiasm and has the rare faculty of expressing himself, his recruit days will be of short duration. In an instructor individuality and char- acter are the most important points, next to a knowledge of the work. Make efforts to get a live man. A non-commissioned officer may know his drill through and through, and yet in fifteen minutes bore his squad to absolute inattention. An in- INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL 7 striictor is before his squad day after day for weeks, explaining, exhorting, expostu- lating and if he cannot retain their inter- est unceasingly, his work is of no avail. The rule as to never reprove or check a commander before his squad applies most strongly in the case of recruits. The ut- most care should be taken, never to do anything likely to impair the confidence which all recruits must have in their in- structor. It does not follow that the old- est soldier necessarily makes the best in- structor^ — tliree or four of the best instruc- tors at Aldershot to-day were discovered in the ranks of the recruits themselves. Once having placed an N. C. 0. in charge of a squad, keep him there if it possibly can be arranged. Let the instruc- tor who has recruits for the first week keep them until they join their regiment. He knows his men, their peculiarities; and they know him and his. Much can be done by the judicious cultivation of friendly rivalries between squads. A squad one week ahead of another has no such great advantage, and one squad very often 8 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS passes another in drill and general pro- ficiency. In order to insure as much uniformity as possible, an instructor's class should be started at the earliest possible date, and instruction given in the words of com- mand, the programme of the work, proce- dure on general parade, and the methods of tackling various subjects. Summon the instructors together on parade, as often as possible — it gives them a feeling of au- thority and responsibility, which is a de- cided encouragement, and helps on the work. (c) General Rules for Recruit Training (1) introductory lecture Commence with a brief talk on our army, its traditions, etc. — how we have come to enter the war — the difficult propo- sition that is before us — how thoroughly trained the Germans are and if we win, it will require the utmost cooperation upon INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL 9 the part of every recruit — the great need for our speedy preparation. Then go into the duties of a soldier — drill — discipline — saluting with the num- bers of officers and troops about, and for the credit of the regiment's reputation — lay great stress upon this. The amount of non-saluting, and slack, half hearted sa- luting since the war has begun has been very discreditable to the training of our new army. Recruits should be thoroughly impressed with the importance of this mat- ter before being allowed to go out in uni- form. Officers do not always realize that a man wearing your regimental badge has only been enlisted one day. English "In- fantry Training" puts instruction in sa- luting before instruction in marching. De- scribe officers' badges of rank, and how otherwise they may be recognized. Ex- plain the programme of the work, the time table, the necessity of the cooperation of all to make the work a success, and the importance of punctuality, smartness and attention. 10 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS (2) NEVER PASS A FAULT Squad instructors must strictly obey this rule, which is bound up with the proper ed- ucation of a squad. If the positions of ' ' At- tention," ''Parade Rest," and ''At ease," the turnings by numbers, etc., are not prop- erly attended to from the very beginning slack habits are formed which become dif- ficult to cure. Every time the command "Attention" is given care must be taken to ensure that every man is standing at ''Attention" — faults must be pointed out continuously. It is better for recruits to be wearied by constant repetition than for them to drill badly. The same applies throughout the whole of their drill. If there are one or two men who apparently are physically unable properly to carry out commands (and there will be) they must be dealt with by the physical train- ing instructor, as explained in the next paragraph. Never hurry commands — ' ' Squad Right ' ' — pause ; see that there has been no move- ment — "March" — pause; see that the INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL U movement lias been made correctly, and thereafter no movement ; if there has been^ give ''As you were," and start over again — ''Right Turn" — pause; see that the turn has been properly made — "March." "As you were" is the chief and constant weapon of the recruit instructor ; the words should be in his mouth continually; their use brings smartness, alertness, instant re- sponse to orders. In commands by num- bers it is frequently necessary to make the essential cautionary word by giving "Squad," unless the movement is carried out fairly quick, e.g., "Eight shoulder arms by numbers. One. ' ' If then you wait to see whether the first movement is prop- erly executed by all, do not suddenly shout "Two," or the men will not move together; you must give (3) SPECIAL PHYSICAL TRAINING DRILL Physical training should be given daily, but in practically every squad there oc- curs cases of men who, by reason of long 12 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS years of sedentary life or slackness, can- not, for example, stand up quite straight or march in step. This latter is the more difficult to cure; periodically a really bad case occasionally crops up — the man seems simply incapable of putting down his feet in time with others; the rhythm of the thing never enters into him ; marching with a band he never knows that he is ' ' on the wrong foot." It would not seem pos- sible that a man could go on for any dis- tance putting down his feet every time just a fraction of a second after one hun- dred other men ; but such cases do occur. These physically backward people — usu- ally never more than three or four at a time — should be handed over to the Physi- cal Training instructor every afternoon, so that they have practically individual tui- tion. He takes them through his special exercises — gently and encouragingly — and through the running exercises and games. He usually improves them up to the point of rejoining their squads within a very few days. INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL 13 (4) DISCIPLINE Although naturally a man straight from civil life must be broken gently into the rigid rules of military discipline, yet on the other hand he must be broken into them ; and there is no excuse for slackness on the part of a squad instructor in this regard. Much can be, and has been, said for the splendid spirit of self-sacrifice and patriot- ism actuating the recruits of the new forces ^but it must be remembered that there are defects sometimes to these qualities, which occasionally take the form of protest, not expressed, but present none the less, at the stringency of military discipline, the red tape (as it is described) of military rou- tine (this especially from business men), and the army system generally. A pro- fessional or business man cannot always realize that, although he may earn his hun- dreds and even thousands yearly in civil life, he is not always worth his dollar a day to the nation as a soldier. Fortunately this attitude is not very prevalent, but where it exists it must be firmly dealt with. li RAPID TRAINIXG OF RECRUITS It is not uncommon for soldiers of the new type to reflect when comparing them- selves — from the point of view of parade discipline and smartness and unhesitancy at drill — with, say, long and carefully trained Regulars, that, although miles away from this ideal, yet, when the stress of battle arrives, their far superior intelli- gence and education will more than com- pensate for this lack of the absolute sol- dierly spirit. No misconception could be more fatal to success in war than this. One well-trained company is worth a brigade of geniuses in the trenches. This must be continually impressed on our recruits by precept and practice. But to return to our first point, this inculcation of disci- pline must not be too harsh at the outset. "Plenty of 'rests,' but when they are at 'attention' not a move," should be the in- structor's rule. A sergeant who enters into some explanation, if only for one min- ute, with his men at ' ' attention, ' ' and then allows them to fidget or move, is deliber- ately encouraging bad drill and indisci- pline. On the other hand, keeping the INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL 15 company standing perfectly motionless on occasions, as, e.g., at the calling of the roll, or preparatory to dismissal, is splen- did training. All those many little points that distin- guish a well-disciplined company from an ill-disciplined one — such as absolute punc- tuality in falling in, the leaving of any parade ground, luncheon place, or lecture room in a cleaner and better condition than that in which it was found, the standing at "attention" when addressing officers or non-commissioned officers, me- ticulous care in saluting officers in the streets, soldierly behavior in public places — must -be insisted upon from the outset, or bad habits will be formed. A soldier is made or marred in his first fortnight. A tendency may be found, especially on the part of recruits who are interested in and have studied details of the campaign, to think, and perhaps to say off parade, that this or that particular item of recruit training is not really necessary, is waste of time, because "it is not used at the Front." This must be jumped on at once. 16 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS It is not the part of recruit instructors, let alone recruits, to decide what is wanted at the Front. The official manuals give us a very clear and well-defined idea as to what form the training should assume, and it is an act of indiscipline for any one not in high au- thority to lay down that any particular branch of work need not be dealt with. To give an example, in signalling, it has been stated that semaphore signalling is "washed out" — not used. So long as the Signalling Manual deals with this class of communication, obviously it must be taught. As a matter of fact, in this par- ticular instance the statement had not even the merit of truth. (5) ''counting out the time" In such movements in drill as turnings, salutings and especially arm drill, it is essential that the actions should be carried out smartly and together. This can only be secured by men carrying out these move- ments in exactly the same time. The first INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL 17 occasion any movement is done "judging the time," the time should be shouted out by a non-commissioned officer. (6) USE OF THE DRUM IN MARCHING The Imperial Handbook ''Infantry Training," 1914, lays down that "recruits are not to be taught to march without the constant use of the drum and pace stick." Even a good drummer will not always beat time absolutely correctly (the ten- dency always being to get faster) without a metronome. Moreover, the changes in time, as, e.g., the slow march (75 paces a minute), quick time (120), and the re- cruits' quick time (140) cannot be regu- lated except by the use of this instrument. It is cheap, and well worth the money. With regard to this recruit quick time of 140 paces a minute, on paths it can be done, but it was found impossible to ef- fect this in squad drill on the grass, es- pecially if it is not cut very short indeed. It is better therefore to keep the pace to 120. Marching up and down a path in 18 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS fours at 140 paces, with frequent halts, ''To the Rear," ''By the Right Flank," is a most useful drill practice for a quarter of an hour, especially if the strictest at- tentio-n is paid to the dressing of the fours, proper distances, heads up, covering off front to rear, and to the giving of words of command at the right moment. (7) WORDS OF COMMAND All the rules given in the official manu- als apply doubly as strongly to recruit instructors. As insisted on previously, the very best drills among the non-commis- sioned officers of the battalion must be allotted to this important recruit work. Instructors must study, and be quite ef- ficient in giving words of command on the right foot — some non-commissioned offi- cers are not careful enough about this. (8) THE PRACTICAL NATURE OF THE WORK Recruits sometimes have an idea that much of their training is a necessary evil to be got through with before the real INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL 19 business of fighting begins, and not as an essential preparation for the latter. The fallacy of this idea should be rubbed in whenever possible. The writer had charge of three squads, not amongst the most ju- nior, on a route march, in the course of which it became necessary to form ''Right by twos ' ' in order to get through a narrow gateway. This manoeuver resulted in far too much marking time when fours were re-formed owing to the men in file not keeping ''blocked up" — a thing that was always properly done when the movement was given as an item of squad drill. Here clearly was a case in point, and an oppor- tunity to press home the lesson. The men were halted and told that the only reason for all the squad drill practice of such a manoeuver was that it should be properly done when it became necessary to go through a narrow place; and that if this teaching were forgotten when it became necessary to utilize the training practi- cally, the former became simply waste of time ; and the gate was gone through twice again as a drill movement. 20 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS Again, many of the Swedish drill move- ments are designed more for producing alertness of mind and rapid communica- tion between the will and the muscles than for mere muscle enlargement; and if re- cruits are informed that these exercises are given so that when later on in the trenches they are shouted at by an observer to take cover or some such command, they may effectually, and in good time, do so, and save themselves from injury or worse, they are more inclined to grasp the practical application of the particular Swedish movements. (9) EXTRA DRILLS Some men are bound to be backward, although ^'triers." To meet these cases extra drills should be held when necessary •for one hour after parade. Make it per- fectly clear that this is not a punishment, but merely necessary extra tuition. The drills are taken in turn by the squad com- manders. If this fails, there is no recourse but to put the men back to later squads; INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL 21 but this should not be done if it can be avoided, as it is hard on the men, and — more important — it interferes with the inoculation arrangements. (10) VARIETY IN WORK Take full opportunity of the weekly pro- gramme-arranging meeting to vary the week's work as far as possible for the men. The scheme of work as laid down later affords ample scope for this to be done. Never lose sight of the fact, however, that squad drill is by far the most important part of a recruit's training. Arrange the musketry, map, field work, bayonet-fight- ing instruction, and so on, so as to make a varied and interesting week's work for every squad. II THE DAY'S WORK It is proposed to set out in detail the plan of work as eventually arrived at, as the result of actual experience and sugges- tions in the writer's battalion, giving ex- planation and detail where required. (a) Time Table Hours of work should be from 8.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. (Saturdays to 12 p.m.), with an hour's interval for lunch (except Sat- urdays). (b) The ''Fall In" A marked improvement in steadiness on parade followed the introduction of the fall-in by drum, as practised at the Chel- sea School of Instruction. There is no 22 THE DAY'S WORK 23 doubt of the bracing influence of the drum on the men's demeanor. A man feels ' ' there is a difference between now and two minutes ago. I am now * Fallen in' on parade," and his behavior alters accord- ingly. It does much to eradicate slouch- ing on parade and inattention to orders. The following is the detail. (This is of course the English method but it is wor- thy of note) : Falling in on Parade. (1) On the command ''Fall — in" from the Sergeant-Ma j or, the drummer will beat an open flam (two taps), the whole of the compan}^ will stand at ease, except the right-hand man of the front rank of each squad, who will come to attention and take one and a half paces forward (at the order) and turn to the right, taking up his covering from the front, and dressing from the left flank. The instructor of the leading squad will cover the markers from the front, and give the command ''Markers — Steady," upon which 24 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS the right guides of each squad will turn to their front (left turn). (2) The drummer will beat a close flam (one tap), upon which the company will come to ''attention" (with re- cruits, this and other parts of this falling in have to be repeated). (3) The drummer will count a pause of about 4 seconds, and will then beat a roll, when the company will take a pace forward (30 inches), count a pause of about 2 seconds, and then turn their heads and direct their eyes to the right, moving up the remaining half-pace by short, quick steps. (With recruits it was found preferable to precede this w^ith the command ''Right — Dress" by the Sergeant-Major. During the dressing squad commanders will stand seven paces to the right of their right guides, taking their own dressing from the left, and facing the company. When the left-hand instructor has dressed his squad, he raises his hand, and the instrue- THE DAY'S WORK 25 tors return to their posts two paces in front of their center man in quick time, and turn to the right.) When the whole of the company is steady (men still looking to the right), the drum will cease to roll (concluding with a close flam), upon w^hich the company will turn their heads and eyes sharply to the front. (4) The Adjutant (or Sergeant-Ma j or) will give ''Parade (or Squads) — Stand at — Ease — Call the roll," on which squad instructors will call their squads up to ''attention" (see that this is not overlooked), call the roll, and prepare their squads for inspection. Squad instructors should turn about smartly and together be- fore doing this. (5) "When the roll has been duly called the Adjutant (or Sergeant-Major) calls for "Squad Commanders," who proceed in quick time and form up in front of him, sticks being carried in the proper position of at- tention, and, in turn, from A squad 26 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS (on the right) report ''All present, sir/' or otherwise. They then re- ceive from the Sergeant-Major the command ' ' Squad Commanders, About — Turn. To your squads — March." It is important that all this should be efficiently and prop- erly carried out by the instructors, as example plays a huge part with recruits in developing habits of smartness on parade. With any number of squads up to six fall in in close column of squads; over six the fall in must be in mass. In the latter case the leading squad commanders (ex- cept the left-hand man), when they have finished dressing the guides, look to the left-hand instructor and, taking the time from him, return in quick time to their positions in front of their squads and turn about — all these as drill movements. The Sergeant-Major himself then gives ''Mark- ers — Steady. ' ' After inspection by the squad command- ers — occasionally by officers — squads are then ready for the day's work. THE DAY'S WORK 21 (c) Schedule of Work The following is the schedule of work to be carried out: — A. — PRACTICAL OUTDOOR WORK (i) Work to he done Daily, No. 1 Physical training. 2 Squad drill — without and with arms. (ii) Work to he done from Time to Time as Opportunity Offers. 3 Extended order drill (practice fre- quently). 4 Platoon drill. 5 Company drill. 6 Route march — once weekly. 7 The Attack — as a drill purely. 8 Passing of messages in extended or- der. 9 The Attack. — very simple scheme — embracing 7 and 8. 10 Guards and piquets — mounting;, guard duties. 28 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS 11 Advance guard. 12 Flank guard. 13 Rear guard. 14 Outposts — as a drill. 15 Outposts — simple scheme. 16 Bayonet fighting. 17 ''Silent drill" — preparatory to night work. 18 Night work — one evening weekly. 1^ -r^. , • -, . 1 By arrangement 19 Distance judgmg ^^.^^ ^^^^^^^ 20 Visual training \ • . . ^ J instructor. 21 Semaphore signalling — elementary. 22 Trenching — digging. 23 Musketry ^ Taken by special- 24 Map reading and [ ist officer in- field sketching J structors. 25 Bombing instruction. B. — LECTURES — OUTDOOR OR INDOOR. 26 History of our Army. 27 Drill. 28 Discipline. 29 Marching and march discipline. 30 ''A day's life at camp." THE DAY'S WORK 29 31 ''Tips for soldiers." 32 Attack — use of cover. 33 The Attack— I. 34 The Attack— II. 35 The Defence— I. 36 The Defence— II. 37 The Defence— III. 38 Miscellaneous matters — I. 39 Miscellaneous matters — II. 40 Miscellaneous matters — III. 41 Miscellaneous matters — IV. 42 Physical training. 43 Guards and their duties. 44 Casualty drill. 45 Outposts — I. 46 Outposts— II. 47 Protection on the march — Advance, flank and rear guards — I. 48 Protection on the march, Advance, flank and rear guards — II. 49 Night work — elementary. 50 Night work — advanced — operations. 51 "Wood fighting — fighting in close country and villages — I. 52 Wood fighting — fighting in close country and villages — II. 30 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS 53 Wood fighting — fighting in close country and villages — III. 54 Ammunition supply. 55 Entrenchments — I. 56 Entrenchments — II. 57 Entrenchments — III. 58 Scouting. 59 Reports and reconnaissance. 60 The platoon system. 61 Artillery — I. 62 Artillery— II. 63 Company training. 64 Entrenching tools. 65 Ceremonial. 66 Camp sanitation. 67 Machine guns. 68 Military hygiene. 69 Military engineering. 70 Relation of a soldier to the Civil Power. 71 How to be fit. 72 First-aid. NOTES At a glance it may be thought that there is altogether too much ''lecture" about this THE DAY'S WORK 31 programme; but it should be explained that these ''lectures" merely take the form of half -hourly chats on the many subjects, a certain amount of the detail of which must be known to soldiers. The hours of work, as explained above, were from 8 to 4.30, with a break at 1 p.m. No troops, however keen, can be kept con- tinuously at drill for 4 hours — at any rate without losing interest and efficiency. Squad instructors from time to time for purposes of rest stood their squads "easy" for a short time, but did not give any def- inite ''break-off," It was found expedi- ent for the sake of uniformity and of ap- pearance (nothing looks worse than the sight of odd squads lying or sitting about the parade ground smoking), and in or- der to secure that all men had the rest period together and for the same dura- tion of time, to arrange a half -hour's lec- ture time in both morning and afternoon sessions. At this time the whole of the recruits were assembled (or divided ac- cording to the lectures to be given) un- der a tree or other convenient spot. The 32 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS time was frankly one of rest; but while men are resting it is perfectly possible for them to follow and remember the points of these talks on military matters. It formed the change of occupation, which is the truest recreation. No attempts were made to make people ''pay attention," and all endeavors were made to create an atmosphere of free discussion and interest — keeping (as a matter of convenience) questions to the end as far as possible. This is not always possible — it is sometimes better to settle a disputed point right oif. As a fact, no complaints were ever re- ceived of men not paying attention to these discourses. One point with regard to questions, however, must be insisted on. A questioner must speak out with a loud voice, so that all may hear his question — if necessary he must be made to stand up — and one question only at a time, other- wise there is danger of the affair resolv- ing itself into a series of small debating societies. This must not be allowed to discourage questioning; on the contrary, reasonable and intelligent questions should THE DAY'S AVORK 33 be encouraged as mucli as possible. Men with previous war service (and we were lucky enougb to have several) can, and will, if encouraged, often drive home a point by some practical illustration from their own career. This stimulates inter- est greatly. The lectures should be distributed amongst the officers and squad command- ers and other non-commissioned officers. This is essential, as with squads away on other work it is sometimes necessary, in order to fit in, to have three, even four, lectures going on at once. It was found that squad commanders became very keen on this branch of their work, and made it a point of honor to become something very akin to experts, reading all that there is to be read on their own particular sub- jects. If any excuse were needed for this sys- tem of combined lecture and rest, it lies in the fact that everything has to be done as far as is compatible with efficiency —in these strenuous times rapidly. Our drill has to be done at pressure— and 34 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS therefore certainly our lecturing. There is no time for the long recruit training of the pre-war period. The facts of military- life covered by this series of lectures must be made known to the men, and the writ- er's experience shows that this is an easy way in which it can be done. The lectures will be dealt with in numer- ical order later. Obviously, care must be taken that if any practical work (Part A) is covered by a lecture (Part B), the lecture must be given first. This point must be dealt with at the meeting to prepare the weekly time- table. The following is the schedule of work in detail : — A. — Practical Outdoor Work. (i) Work to be Done Daily Note. — Lecture first — and as shortly be- fore the practical work as can be arranged. THE DAY'S WORK 35 1. PHYSICAL TRAINING This work, except the mere marching, running, jumping, etc., exercises should be given only by a qualified instructor. The authorities are very keen on this. Physical training has a wonderful effect in smartening men for drill. It was found necessary to divide the squads into two or more parties for phys- ical training, one (or more) for the first hour in the morning and the remainder for the second hour, the others doing squad drill or other work. 2. SQUAD DRILL (a) Without Arms. With a view to the better classification of the work done, to the actual progress made by the different squads, and to the avoidance of the possibility of omitting any small items of drill, squad instructors should keep strictly to the programme of drill in these tables, and ensure that a 36 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS squad is proficient in one table before be- ing taken on to the next. Squad instructors must be strictly au fait with everything in the Infantry Training Book. Squad drill must be known backwards, forwards, inside out. Drill is a special opportunity for instructors to be absolute autocrats. Kecruits as a rule take a very great interest in their work, especially on parade, and many of them are already acquainted — more or less thoroughly — with the theoretical side of drill. Any evidence of non-infallibility on the part of their instructors, therefore, comes as a shock, and such things must not be allowed to happen. Combined ^^ Be fresher" Squad Drills. — These were taken at the conclusion of the morning and afternoon sessions, after the lectures, and were bound to be extremely useful indeed in conducing to smartness and uniformity. Without such drill cer- tain differences will be bound to creep in ; the individuality of squad instructors will discover an outlet without departing in any way from the text of the official THE DAY'S WORK 37 drill book. All squads on parade took part in these drills without reference to their seniority; and different officers or non-commissioned officers conducted the drill on different days. Squads were turned into squads in single rank by mere- ly moving back the rear rank three paces. Distances between squads is immaterial, as long as it is the same; but it must be understood that no attempt is made to perform any company drill movements, except that in marching in column, dis- tances, and in marching in line of squads in fours or file, intervals, must be kept, purely to allow of forming movements to be carried out. Squad commanders and their assistants do not "take post" in any way, but keep on the move, placing them- selves where they can best exercise super- vision over their squads, checking any errors on the part of their own men. The drill is merely ''combined squad drill" — three or more squads instead of one — and all orders are given in the singular, e.g., "Squad— 'shun." The value of this drill lies in the spirit 38 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS of emulation it creates amongst the squads. Each squad is out to shine whilst drilling with the others. Every member of a squad is anxious not to spoil the drill ef- fect of his own squad by making any mis- takes. Being an integral part of a big drill such as this (nine squads have been drilling together at a time), has a very beneficial and salutary effect on the indi- vidual. Each combined drill was concluded with five minutes' marching in fours on a path, where the step can be kept fairly easily without the use of the drum, the com- mands ''To the Rear— March," ''Right by Twos— March!" " Squad— halt, " "Mark — time," and others being given continu- ously. Every effort must be made by the in- structors to keep the drill bright and in- teresting. Squad drill lacks the varied movements of company drill, and is apt to become boring unless conducted by a keen, intelligent man. Any signs of listlessness or inattention must be smartly checked by a few seconds' rest or by changing the drill. THE DAY'S WORK 39 (b) Squad Drill luith Arms. In these times it is not always possible to have sufficient arms to equip every re- cruit. Rifle drill had, therefore, to be made a special subject, squads being sent from time to time for instruction. '^Count- ing out the time'' should he utilized at first; instructors must know the detail, not parrot fashion, but so as to describe what is to be done without hesitation. As many non-commissioned officers as possi- ble must be sent with the squad doing arm drill, as — especially during the prelimi- nary work — one supervisor to every six men is none too many. (ii) Work to be Done From Time to Time as Opportunity Offers Eememher, always begin with Explanation and Illustration. 3. EXTENDED ORDER DRILL (Always from ''at ease" position.) JMust be done as a drill thoroudily first. 40 RAPID TRAINING OF RECRUITS z-^ i '1-1 - M ~ii C rt rf s p m o O S q; ^ 5 Pi a? 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